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The 4 Keys to MemberCard Success
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Starting this month, the next several MemberCard Tips will focus on
one of Four Keys to improve membership results with the help of your
MemberCard program.
Key #1: Know how the MemberCard benefits differ from
premiums:
In the early stages of building a membership file, the pool of
prospective members (the audience) is untapped and recruiting new
members is easy and cheap. After this low-hanging fruit is harvested,
acquiring new members becomes increasingly expensive.
Premiums like CD's, tickets, DVD's, etc., are used to attract the
less qualified remaining prospects. These incentives lower the net
revenue new member gifts generate to such a degree that many acquisition
efforts are done at a loss.
Even at a loss, member acquisition is a necessity, if only to
replace members lost to normal attrition each year. For more net
revenue, member attrition must be kept to a minimum, so fewer low-margin
new members are needed to replace lost high-margin current members.
Member benefits and services keep attrition low by giving members
more reasons to renew. This includes the MemberCard, frequent customer
communication and superior customer service.
So, the difference between premiums and benefits is: premiums are
used to generate a single transaction -- the low-margin first gift.
Benefits and general member cultivation are ongoing and generate a
series of high-margin gifts.
Fortunately, these differences are highly complimentary, and the
following are a few strategies to make the most of each:
- During drives, talk more about mission and membership, use the
premium to "close the deal."
- Give your membership retention program as much effort and focus as
you do on-air drives.
- Approach member cultivation one member at a time. It's like
pitching: always speak to a single person, never a vast audience.
- Embrace membership cultivation as a year-round effort. It's
impossible to over-do great service, communication and benefits of
membership.
- Focus on keeping members engaged and using their benefits. The
more they experience the value of being a member, the more likely they
are to renew.
- Use every possible tool to remind members of how important they
are and of the benefits they receive in recognition: E-newsletters,
e-mail blasts, program guide, the MemberCard directory, on-air spots
during & between drives, events, etc.
- Feature MemberCard benefits in solicitations -- in acquisition and
lapsed mail, try a lower "special offer" giving level to receive the
Card. In renewals, use the buck slips we prepare with updated
listings, include in telemarketing scripts, and produce spots for use
during and between drives that highlight some MemberCard benefits.
- Develop a separate, more intense cultivation strategy for new,
first-year members.
Attracting and retaining members -- two sides of the
same coin: one side represented by premiums, the other, by your station
MemberCard.
Great examples of all these ideas and many more are available in the
MemberCard User's Manual. Don't have one? Simply call Sheri Brochu at
800-423-7645 ext. 15 or email her at sheri@membercard.com and she will
get a User's Manual right out to you!
Stay tuned for more Keys to MemberCard Success over the coming
months!
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Benefit versus premium 